ROC REVELATIONS (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 76

The T-Roc, launched in 2017, turned out to be one of Volkswagen's most important models for years, representing the brand in the affordable style-conscious end of the fast-growing mid-sized SUV segment. Almost everything you can't see on this car comes from a Golf hatch, which is no bad thing. As for the stuff you'll admire in the driveway, well it all looks satisfyingly fashionable. Here, we look at the early 2017-2021-era pre-facelift versions of this model.

Modelsword count: 12

5dr SUV (1.0 TSI, 1.5 TSI, 2.0 TSI, 1.6 TDI, 2.0 TDI)

Historyword count: 235

For years, Volkswagen's primary offering when it came to models in the compact SUV market was its Tiguan, but by the end of the 21st century's second decade, that crossover had been eased up-market, leaving a space into which the brand slotted not one but three new SUVs. Two were Polo-based (the little T-Cross and the only slightly larger Taigo): the other borrowed its underpinnings from the Golf hatch and is our focus here - the T-Roc. Back in 2017, it was the funkiest model of this kind we'd yet seen from the Wolfsburg maker. Like other Volkswagen Group models in this segment from Audi, Skoda and SEAT, it campaigned against family hatchback-based SUVs in the class originated by Nissan's Qashqai, then popularised by just about every volume maker you can think of. The T-Roc aimed to set itself apart with much trendier styling, plus apparently, this car was said to be designed to be 'fun' to drive, an attribute that back in 2017 most competitors were claiming but almost none of them actually delivered. As well as drive dynamics, lots of effort went into ensuring that the T-Roc had substance as well as style, this model claiming class-leading levels of media connectivity and safety, plus all the potential personalisation options that buyers in this class were demanding. The car was lightly facelifted in 2022 but here, we look at the earlier pre-facelift 2017-2021-era models.

What You Getword count: 312

The T-Roc's extrovert styling is certainly very different to that of Volkswagen's conservative Tiguan. It's smaller too, the compact 4.2-metre length not only 252mm shorter than its SUV stablemate but also 21mm shorter than a MK7 Volkswagen Golf. The Wolfsburg brand's Head of Design, Klaus Bischoff, and his team went for a wide and long stance allied to a relatively low roofline and a steeply raked C-pillar. Provided it's dressed up a bit, it certainly makes a statement. So, plenty of effort went into the exterior design. The cabin architecture isn't quite as adventurous, though in the mid-range 'Design' variant, attempts were made to lift things with coloured flashings, available either in either 'Energetic Orange', 'Tumeric Yellow' or 'Ravenna Blue'. A high-set glass-fronted 8-inch infotainment screen dominates the centre stack on all models, upgraded in many cases to the 'Discover Navigation' system that's fitted to plusher variants and was optional lower down the range. And in the back? Well, once inside, the differences between this model and its Tiguan showroom stablemate are readily apparent: as you'd expect, the shorter body length makes quite a difference to legroom here. Nor is there the sliding seat base that you'd get in a Tiguan to improve things in this regard. You might expect headroom to be a touch restricted too, given the coupe-like rear styling and the fact that rear passengers sit 46mm higher than those at the front. As it turns out, a couple of six-foot passengers can just about sit behind a couple of equally lanky front seat occupants with some degree of comfort. And the boot? Well there's an adjustable-height boot floor that you can lower if necessary for taller items. As for actual boot capacity, well that varies a little depending on the drive layout you've chosen, rated at 366-litres for a front-driven model or 324-litres in a 4MOTION-equipped 4WD variant.

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